West African crude oil sellers are struggling to find buyers for up to 26 cargoes scheduled for December and January loading, as cheaper and more plentiful alternative supplies intensify competition, traders and analysts told Reuters.
Analysts say the high volume of unsold Nigerian and Angolan crude reflects a wider global oil surplus.
This surplus has weighed on international futures markets and helped push Brent crude below $60 per barrel this week, its lowest level since May.
“The overhang of West African cargoes partly reflects the broader global crude supply surplus emerging in Q1,” said Victoria Grabenwoger of analytics firm Kpler.
By Thursday, around 20 million barrels of Nigerian crude scheduled for December and January loading remained unsold, according to two traders. Angola’s December–January programme also still had as many as five to six cargoes available.
The large number of unsold cargoes has slowed the start of trading for February shipments, even though Angola’s loading schedule and term nominations have already been released.
Such a high level of unsold oil is unusual for the current month, as West African crude is typically sold around two months in advance. Earlier this week, estimates for the combined Nigerian and Angolan overhang were as high as 40 million barrels.
Don’t Miss This:
“Current market softness appears to be partly seasonal and partly due to shifting buying patterns in response to freight costs and alternative supply options,” said OilX analyst Francisco Gutierrez.
He added that Angolan January trade is running 20% behind its long-term average pace because China, the world’s largest commodities buyer, has switched to cheaper or closer alternative grades.
Analysts said supplies from the Middle East are displacing medium and heavy West African crudes in Asia, as lower official selling prices for January and shorter shipping distances give those grades a competitive edge.
India’s oil imports from Russia have remained resilient despite tighter Western sanctions, further displacing medium-heavy West African crudes.
At the same time, light to medium-density West African grades are struggling to compete with supplies from Argentina and Brazil, two traders said.
Nigeria has also been left with more crude to sell because imports by Africa’s largest refinery, the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote plant, have declined. The refinery is scheduled to undergo maintenance in January, Grabenwoger said.
Don’t Miss This:
Chevron To Join Nigeria’s 2025 Oil Licence Auction, Plans Rig Deployment In 2026
Image Credit: Reuters
